Yours For A Day
by Seto's Darkness
Summary: Naruto's auctioned off, and the winner gets a day with him… and now, everybody's fighting over him [SasuNaru SaiNaru NejiNaru GaaNaru NaruHina OroNaru ItaNaru KakaNaru HakuNaru]
1. Chapter 1

**Warning : **This is rather OOC, but this one is a light-hearted fanfic. Another everyone x Naruto, but he really is too cute to be left alone :D Implied **shounen-ai **abounds. As well as a jealous (therefore, violent) Sasuke…

**Notes : **Thanks for all those who supported me and my fanfictions:) You guys **rock**!** Please enjoy **this little piece of work :)

* * *

**Umino Iruka** cleared his throat loudly, feeling today's events catching up with him. This booth for the school fair (as suggested by the ever-clever **Hatake Kakashi**) is named _Yours For A Day_. The brown-haired teacher thinks that the title is a little too cheesy and cliché, but the students seemed to like it _very_ much.

Iruka suspects that the only reasons for the overwhelming support though, were for the fangirls who had madly hoped that **Uchiha Sasuke** (the ever-popular heartthrob and President) would be auctioned off, and for others to laugh at the auctioned ones (and totally enslave them once they win the bidding).

The penultimate bidding involved **Haruno Sakura** being sold off to a very enthusiastic and I-might-just-faint-coz-I'm-happy **Rock Lee**. It's a well-known fact that the bushy-eye teen adores the pink-haired girl, but Iruka's glad that people are glad because of this booth. For the record, Sakura didn't even protest that _much_ when Lee took her hand gently as she went down her new… "owner" for 24 hours. Iruka guesses it's because she's too heartbroken from the fact that Sasuke flat-out refused to be auctioned for this fair.

"Are you ready?" Iruka asks the last one to be auctioned, and the teacher has a reason to believe that this one is going to be the most successful bidding. He's sure that past the slightly-childish pranks that **Uzumaki Naruto **pulls on a variety of people, he's still well-loved and well-supported by his peers. The blond teen nods enthusiastically, ready for the auction to begin.

"All right! Now we come to the final person to be auctioned off… Please welcome, Uzumaki Naruto from Class 2-A!"

Cheers and claps greet the blue-eyed blond, and Naruto smiles at the crowd consisted of his classmates and other acquaintances.

Iruka smiles at the not-cold reception of the crowd, and he starts off the bidding. "We start the bidding at…"

"200 dollars," A cold voice pierces the crowd of students, and all heads swivel to look at one person standing in the middle of the crowd. Scarlet eyes peer at Naruto unabashedly from beneath silky gray bangs, and the blond tries not to blush at the obvious scrutiny. Deep down, Naruto also tries not to start running away from here; the stare is _creepy_.

"Uhh, 200 dollars from **Uchiha Itachi**!" Iruka says cheerfully, albeit forced. After all, it's more than shocking to hear Itachi's voice, much less hear him about wanting to _buy_ somebody. The older (of the two) Uchiha is on his third year in the university, but since this has _both_ high school and college…

It's also rather _creepy_ that the first bid exceeded all the others' final bids. It's like… Itachi really _wants_ to win Naruto.

"Hmph, 220." Another cold voice (though certainly not colder than Itachi's) rings through the still-baffled crowd. The student body (along with a few teachers) looks on again, and sees the long-haired candidate for the Valedictorian, **Hyuuga Neji**. Naruto and Neji are acquaintances, but Iruka didn't know that Neji is also interested on the cheerful blond…

"There's a 220—"

"Make that a 250from _me_," **Sabaku Gaara**'s emerald eyes are narrowed dangerously, and he's standing as well, glaring at his two competitors. Itachi looks unaffected, while Neji looks a bit miffed.

"A 250—"

"I'd like to bid a 275 for my Naruto-_kun_!" Kakashi's vibrant voice comes from the last lane of seats, and Iruka tries to hold his anger. First, the bidders cut him off incessantly, and _now_, Kakashi's bidding for Naruto!

"You, double-timing, pedophile, **pervert**!" Iruka screeched to the microphone, and the students are too interested with their kind teacher's outburst to be disturbed by the loud, scratchy noise that came out of the speakers.

"Too bad, Kakashi-sensei… I'm bidding a 290 for Naruto," **Sai **sounds remarkably positive, considering that his rivals are all fiercely cold teens. Iruka feels his anger towards Kakashi melt into another feeling: _dread_. After all, all the bidders are rather cold and stubborn, and this only means that they're really fighting to get Naruto. Coffee-colored eyes try to sneak a peek at Naruto's expression, but the blond looks too dumbfounded and terrified at the moment.

"300," Gaara says three seconds flat after Sai.

"330," Neji smirks at his starting-to-fume competitors.

"350," Sai bids with a smile, and Kakashi sits down, an amusedleering expression playing on his face.

"400." Itachi says chillingly, and the others switch their glares to the _old_ Uchiha.

**Hyuuga Hinata** speaks up meekly, in her trademark shaking voice. "I'll-l b-bid-d for-r N-Naruto-k-kun-n… 420—"

"440," **Haku**, a freshman at the university bids with a feminine smile, causing all others to swoon.

"500," **Orochimaru** bids, a snake-like glint on his golden eyes. Hinata shrinks to her seat, her seatmate nodding encouragingly at herin admiration of her courage to try and win Naruto. The others look in sheer _horror_ at the long-haired teacher, and Naruto's eyes widen some more, totally aghast with the way the bidding is proceeding.

"510," Gaara says challengingly, his feet moving closer towards the leering Orochimaru.

"520," Neji offers with another smirk, flipping his brown hair to one shoulder.

"It's now at 550," Sai says with another smile, though his eyes are narrowed in an uncharacteristic display of displeasure.

"600," Neji bids at the same moment as Gaara said the figure. They glare at each other, but the competition is cut short momentarily by Itachi's bid of 650.

The students now look on, interested with how is this going to end. To think that all the cool and cold guys of the school are fighting over Naruto… Really, who would've known?

"Itachi-_san_, you must understand that you're way _too _old for Naruto-kun. **700**." Sai says with a chilly voice, despite his smiling countenance. Sai transfers the smile towards the others. "Same goes for the lot of you."

"Hmph, I'm going to win Naruto over because that's what our destinies say. **780**." Neji retorts, and his entire posture is rigid, as though trying to hold back some lashing and extreme violence.

"I _am_the same as Uzumaki Naruto's. I wouldn't let any of you have him. **830**." Gaara says simply, not caring if the others hear his 'confession'. He simply doesn't give a damn.

"Naruto-kun," Orochimaru speaks slowly, as though his tongue is caressing each syllable before it comes out of his mouth. However, Itachi's patience is running out and he cuts of the snake-like man with his bid of **900** dollars.

Iruka already feels like crying, but Naruto's condition of shock and terror is probably worse than the one he's feeling.

"**1000** dollars, Itachi-_kun_," Orochimaru finishes his bid, one sickly-pale finger twirling a lock of ebony-black hair. Simultaneous gasping erupted from the crowd's mouths, surprised to hear somebody bidding that much, to just spend a day with Naruto.

"1000 dollars from Orochimaru-san. Going once, going—" Iruka's voice is strained, since he still finds it unbelievably creepy that _this_ person is interested in buying Naruto, even for a day.

"Naruto's mine." Another cold voice rings through the noise of cheers and surprised gasps. If the students' expressions are hurt and shocked at the same time, Naruto's expression is… _more vivid_.

"1500 dollars for Naruto," The new voice comes closer, and the others shift their hateful gazes to the one person walking down the central column, seemingly intent on going directly to where Naruto is, presently.

"…Why?" There; Naruto's first word since the start of the bidding. It's directed solely to the newest bidder, and Iruka could almost see the flame burning within _those_ obsidian eyes.

Uchiha Sasuke raises his eyes evenly and meets Naruto's searching blue ones, blatantly ignoring the squeals, the heartbroken sighs, the shocked gasps…

"It's because you're mine." The reply is smooth, as though Sasuke's speaking the most normal thing in the world. Their eyes meet, and everything else fades away—

"What are you talking about, you bastard!" …Not. The other bidders are obviously not happy with another appearance, and Itachi even _smirk_s at his younger brother.

"Nice try, foolish little brother," Itachi says coolly, red eyes boring deep into black ones. "1700 dollars."

Iruka feels another headache coming.

"I'll win you, Naruto." Sasuke says confidently, and he stops walking towards the confused blond. The promise stays around the bidders like a thick blanket of tension.

Iruka just wishes to go home and be away from these cold and creepy students. Iruka also wishes that Naruto's admirers shouldn't be _this_ scary.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

I know that _dollars_ isn't the Japanese currency, but… -fiddles fingers- I'm too scared to try in _yen_, coz I know I'm going to screw it up more if I used the wrong "estimations" –hangs head- Sorry.

Oh well. This one is cliché. Haha, but it's fun anyway. I hope you like this! **Please review**! Updates and contact information and new ideas are posted on my profile :D

Is Sasuke going to win Naruto? Or is somebody else going to win Naruto and Sasu-chan would just have to stop him from molesting dating Naru-chan? Find out in the next chapter:)


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning : **This is rather OOC, but this one is a light-hearted fanfic. Another everyone x Naruto, but he really is too cute to be left alone :D Implied **shounen-ai **abounds. Mild violence and mild language. As well as a jealous (therefore, violent) Sasuke…

**Notes : **I never expected such warm response for this fanfic :) It made me very, _very _happy though XD I'll stick to the dollars thing, since most people are more familiar with that currency :D **SasuNaru** is my favorite pairing (oh, the OTP! XD) However, I also like SaiNaru and ItaNaru (shifts guiltily). I prefer Neji and Gaara together, or with Hinata (or TenTen) and Lee, respectively.

In this chapter, introducing **Shikamaru x Naruto**… Hey, it's also a rather friendly pairing :P

**On with this ficcie!**

* * *

Things are spiraling out of control quickly, and Iruka wonders some more if the money is really worth this trouble.

The answer is rather simple: of course **yes**. Not to mention it's hilarious to see the school's coldest males fighting over one dumbfounded and shell-shocked Naruto.

Iruka cleared his throat, ruling over the urge to pour a bucket of ice-cold water over Naruto (if that could snap him out of his surprised daze). He also effectively ignored the murderous intent rolling off him, as he saw Kakashi leering at Naruto. Just because of that, Kakashi is _so_ going to sleep on the couch for a **month**. "1700 dollars, going once, going—"

"1750," Orochimaru bids with a scary-looking smile on his ultra-pale face. Iruka wonders if teachers are allowed to bid, but decides that he doesn't really want to know. If things go as he expected, Orochimaru wouldn't win anyway.

There's tense silence when Sai walks calmly towards the long-haired Chemistry teacher (who is standing near Gaara). A smile is playing on Sai's lips, creating shivers running down the viewers' spines. With a speed and action that nobody expected, Sai's fist came flying towards Orochimaru's face. A second later, Orochimaru dropped back-first to the ground, but nobody really cared much.

It just means that there's less competition.

"I'm bidding 1800," Sai says cheerfully, as though he didn't just punch their too-shocked-to-react teacher, who's now out cold, much to the relief of most viewers.

"1—" Before Gaara could even bid, his hands are held down by his older sister, Temari, who looks absolutely distressed about her little brother spending all his allowance on this fund-raising drive.

Hinata, taking advantage of Orochimaru and Gaara being knocked out of the competition, tried to talk to her cousin, who looks positively enraged.

"1900," Itachi states coldly, disregarding the muffled screams of bids coming from Neji and Gaara.

"We have 1900 from Uchiha Itachi—"

"2000," Sasuke says menacingly, black eyes glinting dangerously beneath the artificial lights of the bidding area. The two Uchihas glared at each other, and if looks could kill, both of them would be buried twenty feet below the ground now.

"2—" Nobody even noticed Iruka going down from the stage to place tape over Kakashi's mouth, preventing the perverted teacher from bidding on Naruto. They're all too busy watching the famous Uchiha brothers out-glare each other (as in, who has the scariest glare…).

"Maa, maa, this is so troublesome." A new voice arrived, belonging to one of Naruto's buddies: **Nara Shikamaru**. Naruto blinked owlishly at his friend's interruption of the bid.

"2500 dollars," He said, and cheers from behind his back told the audience on who's funding the lazy-ass genius. The top leaders (along with the richest members) of the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club, Uchiha Itachi Fan Club and Hyuuga Neji Fan Club squealed when everybody's attention focused on them. They waved their checkbooks gleefully at the viewers.

After all, they don't care if Naruto goes to Shikamaru, as long as he doesn't go to any of their crushes. Yep, rational thinking is really rampant on this school. Or not.

"2—" Sasuke tried to bid, but Itachi's hands are already covering Sasuke's mouth forcefully.

"Going once—"

"2—" Sasuke tried again, but couldn't get a word out.

"Going twice—"

"2—"

"SOLD to Nara Shikamaru for 2500 dollars!"

* * *

It's a stressful day.

He's still in shock, since he really didn't expect all those guys to be after him. It's flattering, but creepy in a way. And to know that **he**'s interested…

He walked up slowly to one of the bidders (…who lost) and tapped the dark-haired teen on the shoulder. His twenty-four hours with Shikamaru starts tomorrow, so he's still free tonight.

"Why did you bid for me?" Naruto asked slowly, his shoulder brushing against Sasuke's. The younger Uchiha doesn't answer; he just kept staring stubbornly ahead. "I mean, we have always been together…" He continued, before laughing uneasily. "…Fighting, I mean…"

Something akin to hurt flashed across Sasuke's pale face, but since he only saw the side view of the Uchiha's face, he isn't too sure. "I don't need a reason," Sasuke said coldly, fists shaking at his sides.

The cold tone of the voice, the indifferent reaction to his question… _You bid for me! You told me I'm yours! What's that about, then!_ Naruto wanted to scream those things to his rival standing beside him.

Instead, he let anger, irrational anger wash over him. He's angry because Sasuke let Shikamaru win. He's angry because Sasuke's ignoring him now.

He moved away from the Uchiha, angry footsteps echoing as he stomped his way out.

As angry as he was, he didn't hear Sasuke's soft-spoken admission to the empty hall.

"With you, I never needed a reason…"

**

* * *

To Be Continued**

I'm still amazed that most of my readers haven't read anything like this yet. I've read **Sold** (an NC-17 SetoYami fanfiction) by _Shakster_… and I've seen two Kai x Takao (my fave pairing from Beyblade) fanfictions that are like this. And then, there's that InuKag fanfic too… Haha, anyhow :D

I apologize for the shortness, since this, technically, is Chapter **1.5**. I just forgot to add this at the end of the first chapter… T.T;; I just had to include a bit of Sasu-angst at the end -.-;;

**Next Chapter **(is **longer**) would see the losers of the auction stalking Shikamaru and Naruto on their "date" XD With Sasuke leading the group of insanely jealous males, would the two even have a peaceful day?

Thanks for the support :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings : **Full lists of warnings are found on the first chapter :)

**Authoress' Notes : **I'm glad I surprised everybody with the ShikaNaru at the end of the last chapter XD I apologize profusely for the lack of updates, but I'm still trying to arrange most of the workings of my other fanfics. After I finish smoothing out the kinks on my plotlines, I'll be able to update more regularly :)

* * *

**Last chapter**, Shikamaru pulled off an unexpected win at the auction. Naruto, before going home and preparing for his rather controversial date with his friend, talks to Sasuke. Denying any sort of emotions towards the blond, their "talk" resulted with Naruto angrily walking away from Sasuke.

_"With you, I never needed a reason…"

* * *

_

**Yours For A Day**

**Chapter Three**

**

* * *

Uchiha Mansion. 8:30 pm.**

He stared at the navy blue color of his ceiling, though his mind isn't really focused on noticing the different patterns present overhead. He felt like hitting himself with something really hard, but it's not like he could do anything to change what he said earlier today.

He didn't lie to Naruto—it's true that he doesn't need a reason to bid for him.

He wanted to say that he wants Naruto for himself. He wanted to say that he's jealous of all those… _pests_ wanting to take Naruto away from him. He wanted to say a lot of things. Of all the things he had longed for to admit face-to-face with the blond, he said that he didn't need a reason—a statement that Naruto most possibly didn't understand.

_He's such a dimwit,_ He thought fondly, still staring at his ceiling, letting himself sink further into the soft cushions of his bed.

His mind was about to go into a tirade about that adorable, clumsy, cute, stupid, endearing idiot, but a couple of sharp knocks reached his ears. He sat up on his bed before one could even blink; his face devoid of the faint smile that appeared while he was thinking about Naruto.

"Come in," He stated coldly, eyes narrowing when he saw who entered his bedroom.

His older brother's hair shone a faint silvery glow from the muted lighting of his bedside lamp; his scarlet-colored eyes looked dull and softened. He didn't step further into the room; he stayed just two steps away from the slightly-open doorway.

"Naruto-kun would meet Nara Shikamaru at the Fountain Plaza tomorrow at eight in the morning," Itachi said simply, before turning on his heels, making his way out. The piece of information sank unto Sasuke's mind a second later.

"Wait—" Sasuke said almost uncertainly, "Why are you telling me this?"

His only answer was Itachi's soft footsteps moving away from his room, his door clicking shut.

* * *

**Fountain Plaza. 7:30 am.**

He opened the newspaper, carefully placing it in front of him so that nobody would be able to see his face. He glanced at the silver watch clasped on his left wrist, the hands telling him that he's thirty minutes early.

He discreetly observed the people present on the park; a quick check of his surroundings told him that the only people here are the elderly (who love taking strolls on parks during the mornings), the enthusiastic health-freaks (who jogged round and round) and the pet-lovers (who walked their dogs with mp3-players hanging on their waistbands).

He refused the urge to yawn in tiredness—he couldn't sleep no matter how much he tossed and turned on his comfy bed. He's beginning to think that Itachi told him about Shikamaru and Naruto's date, if only to diminish his sleeping hours.

He saw somebody occupy the bench-and-table in front of him. He raised his eyebrows, smothering a laugh. Gaara looked weird with a huge hat perched on his head, probably trying to mask his trademark red hair. The redhead glanced around him suspiciously; he ducked inside the cover of his newspaper when those emerald eyes passed his direction.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A delicate feminine voice asked from his right. He looked up from his newspaper slowly; he's glad he's wearing tinted shades, because his eyes widened at the sight of those strangely-white eyes. A rather flat-chested female smiled tensely at him, eyebrows ticking on their strain.

"Hyuuga?" He whispered in his shock (and utter amusement), noticing that Gaara's eyes are watching their interaction suspiciously. Hyuuga Neji's eyes widened in surprise, looking as though he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him.

"Uchiha," He ground out his greeting, gritting his teeth in frustration as he noticed Gaara watching them like a hawk. Neji smiled warmly (to Sasuke, it looked rather strained) at the Uchiha, before settling down as far as possible on the same seat.

It seemed that everybody that lost the auction also knew of Shikamaru and Naruto's date.

Haku entered the vicinity, at around seven-fifty, in all his feminine-like beauty, followed by the shy Hinata. His older brother arrived five-to-eight, wearing the same style of tinted shades and black trench coat as him. Sasuke glared at his brother, who sat beside Gaara without asking for any permission.

At exactly eight o'clock, Sai came running to the vicinity, wearing a newsboy cap atop his black hair, making him a bit difficult to recognize from afar. He's breathing rather quickly, sweat dribbled at the sides of his temples. He spoke to everyone on the set of benches: "I'm sorry it took so long, I had to take care of Orochimaru-san," He explained, notifying Sasuke that they're the only ones on this side of the park now.

"That's fine," Itachi said curtly, motioning for Sai to sit somewhere nearby. Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration, refusing to accept to share the task of stalking Naruto.

At ten minutes after eight, Shikamaru arrived on the park, wearing a plain brown shirt and denim pants. If he was surprised to see **nine** sets of eyes (with seven out of the nine looking more intense than the other two) swivel to stare at him, he didn't show it. He looked amused to see Neji and Gaara try their best to conceal their identity though.

"Maa, this is going to be so troublesome," He muttered loudly, sparking the competitive spirits inside the losers of the auction.

It's rare to see all of them having the same thoughts, but strangely, they all had the same line of thinking at that very moment.

_Naruto is MINE!

* * *

_

Uzumaki Naruto arrived the park teeming with jealous and competitive males (…and female) thirty minutes after eight, grinning sheepishly at his "owner" for the day. Sai's the nearest one to the unlikely (and widely unaccepted) couple, so he was the only one who clearly heard of the duo's destination.

They waited for a whole minute after the two left the park, before they pounced on Sai, eager to receive the information.

"Naruto-kun and Nara-kun are going to the mall," That was all Sai managed to say, because after the word _mall_, everybody suddenly disappeared, dashing madly towards the mall.

* * *

"Damn it, where is _he_?" He mumbled angrily beneath his breath, not liking the fact that he could _sense_ Gaara and Neji hot on his trail. The mall is maddeningly crowded, blocking Sasuke's view of the floor. He checked the logical stops: arcade, restaurants, fast food stores, sports shop… But Naruto wasn't there.

He last caught glimpse of Itachi calmly making his way upwards, towards the cinemas. It's another logical choice, but he doubted Naruto would want to watch a movie right now, since there are no horror or action flicks showing.

He's on the third floor of the seven-floor mall, his back rested against one pillar. He saw the end of Haku's long hair running around the clothing shops at the fourth floor. He caught a glimpse of Sai's cap as the black-haired teen searched again from the ground floor.

He wiped his forehead with his handkerchief, noticing that it's colored orange. A small smile formed on his lips as he recalled that this was Naruto's gift to him last year on his birthday (after the blond insisted that he was blackmailed by Sakura-chan to give him a gift, of course).

Come to think of it, his birthday is coming soon…

He sighed heavily, feeling his feet grow sore from walking nonstop around the mall for over two hours already.

He couldn't feel the mall's air-conditioning with this crowd, so he made his way towards the bookstore, knowing that fewer people would venture inside.

He got the shock of his life, though, when he heard a very familiar voice whispering from the other aisle. He placed back the suspense novel he was considering a few seconds ago, before peeking discreetly on the other side. He rubbed at his eyes, nearly knocking off his tinted eyeglasses, to make sure he isn't seeing things.

True enough, there's Uzumaki Naruto, clutching a cookbook securely on his arms, whispering frantically to his "date". Shikamaru looked torn between amusement and boredom, as he listened on the blond's excited babbling. Naruto's cheeks are flushed pink, looking absolutely embarrassed by whatever they're talking about.

It made Sasuke's heart thud painfully inside his ribcage, wanting more than ever to rip the lazy teen away from Naruto. But Naruto looked as though he's enjoying himself, and Shikamaru leaned slightly forward, whispering something directly to Naruto's ear, causing the blond to grin in a lovesick manner, the blush not receding—

Sasuke's vision became _red_.

He stalked angrily towards the two, his glasses held tightly on his fist, missing the look of absolute surprise on Naruto's face.

Now that he's here, standing in front of the two, he couldn't seem to remember the thing he's going to say.

_I love you, Naruto?_

_Get away from him?_

_You're mine?_

_I'm jealous?_

He didn't have a chance to say any of those, though; as seconds passed and Naruto realized that he has been eavesdropping (though he didn't really hear anything) on their apparently supposedly-private conversation.

Before Sasuke could even open his mouth to say something, Naruto _ran_ away from him, legs moving quickly, taking him away from the Uchiha's line of sight.

Shikamaru sighed deeply, putting a hand over his face in a long-suffering fashion.

"I guess that means he doesn't want to see you," He drawled before following Naruto's frantic footsteps, leaving Sasuke on the bookstore, staring after them with defeated resignation on his downcast eyes.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

Ho-hum, how was it? I hope it satisfied the readers' cravings for insanely-jealous-Naru-fanboys :P I really couldn't just focus into humor—the hints of drama still creep in T.T;;

I know I promised this one to be longer, but, hey! It's longer by one whole page! XD Is it obvious that I rushed this installment? X.x;;

**Next Chapter **would be up sooner if I get more reviews XD Haha, the readers' responses really encourage me to write more stuff :)

Much **thanks** for the support :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.  
**Warnings**: Kindly visit the first installment for the full list :) Unbetaed because I posted as soon as I finished typing :)  
**Possible Spoilers**: Karin. A redhead ninja who is one of Sasuke's new 'teammates'. She's a Sasuke-fangirl XD Suigetsu. A Mist ninja who is also one of Sasuke's new 'teammates'. He follows Sasuke so he can fight Kisame. He always teases Karin XD If you don't know them, you can ignore them and replace them with OCs, I suppose D:  
**Notes**: …It's been quite some time, huh? –crickets chirping- Um. I'm sorry for the delay! Thank you so much for your kind reviews and your well-wishes for my recovery from my sickness! :D Now that I'm on my final year in university, I'm a mixture of having fewer subjects (so more time) and having more job applications (so less time). I plan to finish this fic by December, so I hope you guys will accompany me on my journey to make a happy ending for Sasuke and Naruto! (What journey?! OTL) I hope you guys enjoy this installment! It's a longer-than-usual chapter too! :p

* * *

**Last chapter**, Sasuke and the rest of Naruto's dedicated admirers followed the aforementioned blond on his date with Shikamaru. After much trouble of stalking the unexpectedly-popular Naruto, Sasuke found him on a hidden corner of the bookstore, looking lovesick and smitten with his date. And when Naruto found out that Sasuke was spying on them, the blond ran away from him, prompting Shikamaru to say:

_"I guess that means he doesn't want to see you."_

* * *

"Ch, I finally found you," A familiar voice muttered sulkily, startling the brooding male leaning against the school's rooftop's railings. The blond that went into hiding almost jumped at Shikamaru's sudden appearance; Naruto placed a tanned hand on his chest in surprise.

"Geez, you scared me there," Naruto complained half-heartedly, though he wasn't looking at his friend. His blue eyes were fixed on the trees that proudly lined their school's grounds; he was fixated on watching the colors of green swaying with every whim of the breeze.

A couple of footsteps, and Shikamaru was also leaning against the railing. "Scared?" He echoed hollowly, black eyes trained on the other, to watch the blond's actions.

Naruto didn't seem to notice, or mind.

"…What is it, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked, and his voice was weary. Shikamaru was reminded of the blond's voice when he was still alone, an outcast, and he disliked it. Still, he came here for a reason—and that reason is to help his stubborn friend—and _his_ equally-stubborn crush.

The cookbook that Naruto wanted to buy earlier was now inside Shikamaru's backpack, but the boy-genius doesn't plan on telling the blond about it—_not yet_.

The desolate look on Naruto's face told Shikamaru to hurry up, though. He cleared his throat loudly, and directly asked the question that really wasn't much of an inquiry—since he already knew the answer.

He was here for a reason—and that reason is to coax Naruto into patching things up with the proud Uchiha.

"You really love him, don't you?"

* * *

**Yours For A Day**

**Chapter Four**

* * *

"I knew you'd be here," A stoic voice said, and Sasuke has heard that voice for almost his entire life. He didn't bother turning around, to see who was speaking. He kept his eyes stubbornly focused on his reflection on the lake's clear water.

"Go away, Itachi," He said, keeping the desperation and misery away from his tone. He doesn't like the idea of Itachi knowing his state at the moment, because nobody knew what kind of blackmail Itachi could come up with. More importantly, he doesn't like the idea of Itachi worrying about him. He's strong; he can do this.

It's just Naruto.

It's just the most important person in his life.

Sigh.

Instead of going away like he oh-so-politely requested, Itachi sat beside him, his longer legs almost touching the water beneath the wooden platform they were sitting on. The lake's water glittered with aquamarine, scarlet and gold, courtesy of the afternoon sun's rays.

"...You're giving up?" Itachi asked blandly from beside him. Sasuke's shoulders stiffened, but he didn't answer.

He didn't have an answer.

* * *

"Yo, Naruto!" A cheery voice greeted Naruto, as soon as the blond opened the door. Naruto suppressed a heavy sigh at Kakashi's sudden appearance. Iruka-sensei must have sensed that he'd be moping tonight, so he sent Kakashi-sensei to bother him.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied warily, stepping to the side cautiously as he watched the silver-haired teacher enter his lonely apartment.

"It's Sasuke-chan's birthday soon, isn't it?" Kakashi said without much preamble, ignoring the way Naruto's hands waved about as though trying to silence him. "Got any gift ideas?"

Naruto flushed pink, eyes shifting guiltily as he avoided eye-contact with the pervert teacher. He may not look like it, but Kakashi is scarily-perceptive. "W-why would I give that jerk a gift?"

Kakashi crossed the distance between the two of them with quick steps, and was patting the blond's head comfortingly within a moment. Naruto looked up, bewildered. Kakashi's teasing smile beamed down on him and Naruto felt a flash of fleeting dread. He felt his blue eyes widening with realization.

The older man's smile widened with almost-inappropriate glee. His gloved hands took out something from his briefcase and proudly presented it to his surprised student, "Shikamaru-kun passed this to me earlier. He told me that you forgot about this."

"The cookbook…" Naruto murmured, fingers clasping the book and remembering Sasuke's murderous expression earlier, and Sasuke's rare smiles from the years they have spent together, fighting and bickering and being _friends_.

"Iruka sent me actually," Kakashi didn't sound too embarrassed about it, but Naruto supposed that the idea of doing Iruka's bidding grew on him already, over time. He wondered if the harsh words exchanged almost constantly between him and Sasuke would be like that too—growing into a term of endearment and becoming a proof of something _special_, rather than being simply evidences of heated rivalry.

"The others would gladly help, you know," Kakashi said kindly, before his eye crinkled as he grinned mischievously, "since we all know how you destroyed the home economics' kitchen last year."

"UGH, KAKASHI-SENSEI DON'T REMIND ME!"

* * *

"There's only one week left. Have you secured the premises for the party?"

"Yes. Itachi-san is taking care of the clean-up of the venue." Yamanaka Ino scribbled down Itachi's name beside the entry named 'party venue'.

"How about the catering services? Are their delivery times set?"

Ino nodded, while Neji and Gaara said that they have finished cross-checking the food that would be delivered to the party. They made sure that Ichiraku Ramen would be contributing to the party since Naruto would be there.

"About the drinks… Make sure there's no alcohol, okay?"

"Sure thing," Suigetsu agreed with a sharp grin, but Ino looked suspiciously at the white-haired guy. Knowing Suigetsu and his tendencies for delinquency, it was very likely that he'd sneak in something alcoholic.

"Did we manage to hire a band?"

Sai spoke up from his spot on the floor, in a comfortable cross-sitting position while listening to his mp3 player. "Since I'm in-charge of the entertainment, I'll make sure that everything is _fabulous_."

The other people in the room looked mildly disturbed with Sai's mention of the word 'fabulous'; moreover, did he _have_ to use that hand-motion along with it?!

"So gay," Ino muttered sulkily, feeling slightly depressed since she harbored a not-so-small crush on Sai a while ago.

"The invitations are sent out?"

"I'll help out Hinata-chan in handing out the invitations," Haku volunteered, an angelic smile on his face.

"You're planning to sell the invitations," Neji accused, but he didn't protest too much because it would help cover the expenses for this extravagant party.

"The decorations?"

"Temari-san and Kankuro-san have already finished buying them," Ino reported, "TenTen said that she'll help the two in finding more people to uh, _convince_, to help decorate the venue."

"The gift inspection committee?"

"Don't worry! We, the proud members of Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club, are more than prepared to do a security check on the gifts that will be handed to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura, Karin and Ino proclaimed in a heartfelt statement, before the two glared at each other for saying the exact same lines. Lee looked on admiringly at his Sakura-san, despite the fact that Sakura is more passionate about the 'Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club', rather than being more receptive to his advances.

"Then I guess everything's accounted for," The party-organizer said in a serious tone, before breaking into a yawn.

"You make a good organizer, despite your complaints," Ino remarked good-naturedly.

"This is too troublesome," Shikamaru agreed, while the people present on the super-secret meeting started to move out of the cramped classroom. Class would start soon and if someone saw this bunch of students together, they'd immediately think that there's something going on. For the aloof seniors like Neji and Gaara to hang out with the 'useless idiots' of the lower years…!

"You can become a good overlord, Shika," Chouji joked, still not finished with his seventh bag of potato chips.

"Overlord, huh? I wonder about that."

"Thank you, Shikamaru. For helping us out in arranging Sasuke-sama's birthday party," Sakura said, stopping the lazy-but-way-too-smart teen on his way out of the classroom. The others paused as well. Sakura turned to Neji and Gaara. "You guys too," She stated with a friendly smile.

"We're not doing this for you. Or for Uchiha," Gaara said in his no-nonsense voice, inching slightly closer to where Neji's standing. Neji seemed startled that Gaara seemed to be speaking for the two of them. "This is Uzumaki Naruto's request. We're just granting that favor."

Sakura looked stunned at the admission. Instead of being enraged, however, she smiled indulgently, as though understanding. "Naruto… is amazing, isn't he?"

_To get you guys to help out even though you dislike Sasuke-kun_ went unspoken, but Shikamaru doubted that anyone missed the implication. Neji's shoulders stiffened and he looked like he wanted to say something else, but Gaara was holding on to his uniform's sleeve and was already pulling him out of the classroom and towards their next class.

In just a couple of seconds, everyone has filtered out of their meeting place. Only Sakura and Shikamaru remained, but that was fine because Shikamaru had something he wanted to confirm. "You _do_ know about Naruto and—"

In a blink of an eye, Sakura's hand was already hitting Shikamaru's head. "That won't do, Shikamaru-kun. It's not nice to say that to a girl, you know?"

Shikamaru moved away from the strong girl. Sakura laughed, and it sounded like a mixture of heartbreak and freedom. There was no doubt about it: she _knew_ about Naruto and Sasuke and this party's goal.

"Then… why?"

"…It's _because_ I love Sasuke-kun. And Naruto, too. That's why."

It was a bit vague, but when Sakura flashed him a beautiful smile, resigned yet optimistic, Shikamaru understood.

_Naruto is really amazing, huh?_

* * *

Naruto finished placing the icing on the cake he just finished preparing. The blond teen gazed longingly at the dessert he made, with the help of everyone's strength and encouragement. An onigiri-shaped cake sat innocently at the middle of the table inside Iruka-sensei's kitchen. There was still an hour before Sasuke's birthday party, so Naruto carefully packed the cake inside the container Haku and Hinata-chan bought for him.

It was more than just surprising, Naruto thought, when the people who bid for him appeared in front of his house a few days ago. He felt a bit troubled, because after all, _Uchiha Itachi_, most fearsome schoolmate ever, stood in front of his doorway.

The blond remembered feeling mortified when Sai had cheerfully said that they know about Naruto's plan to hide from Sasuke first as long as he haven't finished making the birthday present. Hinata had meekly offered her help in teaching him how to cook _properly_. Even the untouchable Neji and Gaara had even volunteered to make sure that Sasuke never found out about this secret. Sakura-chan had suggested that they all make a birthday party for Sasuke-kun.

Naruto recalled the way they –the teens assembled in front of his apartment- titled their heads at him in a question of whether he wanted to make a birthday party for that jerk who he was making a birthday gift for. Naruto remembered agreeing because he couldn't refuse his Sakura-chan anything, and that he thought that a party would be a good opportunity to have an excuse for the cake he planned on giving.

And now… There was only one hour to go and Naruto was starting to feel nervous. What if Sasuke didn't like it? He shook his head; that bastard loved onigiri and while he hated sweet things, Naruto made sure that he used as little sugar as possible! He even asked Haku and Hinata-chan to buy a dark blue cake box. He even made an icing-design of that stupid-looking Uchiha symbol! There was no way Sasuke wouldn't like it!

Unless… Unless he was still mad about the last time they saw each other? Naruto shook his head again to get rid of such thoughts. Sasuke couldn't be that unreasonable, could he? Of course, Naruto ran away—Sasuke was eavesdropping! About his questions to Shikamaru about his weird feelings whenever Sasuke was nearby, about what could he do for that asshole's birthday!

There was a knock on the door. Naruto sighed in relief—it was a welcome distraction from the bleak direction his musings were taking. He wiped his hands on the apron he was wearing over his outfit for the party. He opened the door, fully expecting it to be Iruka –back from the grocery- or Kakashi –back from his porn bookstore- but he was way off-tangent with his expectations.

He stepped back and gaped at the visitors.

"Neji… Gaara."

Neji smiled, though it looked slightly strained. Gaara, on the other hand, simply intoned, "Uzumaki Naruto," in his usual somber voice.

"So, so, why are you guys here? Iruka-sensei is buying something from the groceries first—"

The Hyuuga coughed a bit. "Iruka-sensei asked us to bring you to the party."

"But I can walk…!"

"So the cake will be in pieces by the time you reach the venue?" Gaara asked sarcastically, though his tone didn't really change much. "You don't even know where it is, knowing you." He added almost as an afterthought.

Naruto stuck out his tongue at the mild teasing. "Well then…! So are you going to drive me, the great Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Neji will drive. I'll aspire to protect the cake from his driving and from your stomach," Gaara deadpanned.

Blue eyes widened. "Oh my god. You can _joke_. And you even sound _amused_. Sasuke's birthday can cause people to act weird, oh my god." Naruto started rambling, though there was a chuckle going along his words.

Naruto transferred his disbelieving stare to Neji. "You guys are even _friends_ now."

Neji bristled. "We're not…!"

"He is tolerable as long as he isn't being himself." Gaara admitted, while Naruto laughed and said that it's hopeless then. Naruto then asked the two seniors to wait for him first because he would need to ditch Kakashi's kitty-apron first and get the cake.

Before Naruto disappeared to the kitchen, however, he paused, and regarded Gaara and Neji with a contemplative glance. "You've changed," _you are not so creepy anymore, I think_, "and thank you."

As soon as Naruto was out of hearing range, Neji whirled to face Gaara, eyes blazing as he protested. "We're **not** friends."

Gaara simply met those white eyes, meeting the ice-cold fury it was radiating. Then, he narrowed his emerald-green eyes—a motion that most students regard as a sign to 'run the hell away'. Instead of picking a fight with Neji, however, Gaara simply said, "Don't whirl like that again. Your hair might hit my face."

Neji flushed hotly. "SHUT UP!"

* * *

It was supposed to be a fun party.

Shikamaru did his best to arrange everything, putting up with the myriad of explosive personalities, enduring the screeches of Sasuke's million fangirls, patiently executing out every part of the preparations. The food was excellent; even Ichiraku Ramen was here too, providing delicious ramen noodles. The decorations were very breathtaking, transforming the plain-looking room into an extravagant ballroom. The entertainment committee did a great job—the music choices were tasteful, the band was awesome and everyone was having fun.

It was supposed to be a day when Naruto would apologize to Sasuke for misinterpreting everything. It was supposed to be a day when Naruto decided to swallow his pride and admit that he needed help –supplied by Shikamaru and the others- in realizing the meaning of those quickened heartbeats, of those fierce blushes, of those damned butterflies-in-the-stomach. It was supposed to be a day when Naruto would give this painstakingly-made gift to Sasuke—and hope that it would pave the way of understanding between the two of them.

It was supposed to be a day when Naruto would confess to Sasuke that no matter who bid for him, no matter how many competed for his attention, his rival-best-friend Sasuke would always be his most important person.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

He could feel the cake box giving way to the force his tight grip was giving. He could feel of crinkling gift wrapper. He could almost crush the cake –his birthday gift- collapsing in his hold.

"Sa-Sasuke…"

The two figures pulled apart hastily.

Naruto blinked once, twice, thrice, for good measure. No, the image in front of him was true.

Karin. And. Sasuke.

Karin was straddling Sasuke. And Sasuke was letting him. Karin was running her hands through Sasuke's hair. Sasuke didn't allow anyone to mess with his hair. Karin was apparently an exception.

"Sasuke… Karin." Naruto prayed that his voice didn't break. It was too much to handle—didn't Karin say that she would help out Naruto with Sasuke? Why was this happening now? How could Karin do this to him? How could _Sasuke_ do this to him?!

"It's not what it looks like…!" Karin protested after a few minutes crawled by.

Naruto exhaled heavily, the cake and its box starting to be crumpled. "You're making out with Sasuke."

The redhead blushed prettily. "Well yes, but…!"

Naruto didn't need any more words, excuses, explanations. Sasuke is good-looking; Karin is very pretty, if not a bit stalker-ish. They would look very cute together. He ran towards the exit, not caring anymore, not caring if some of his friends were calling out his name, not caring that Karin was running after him, not caring that Sasuke was now… in front of him?

Naruto snarled. He didn't register the fact that the Sasuke in front of him looked slightly different—clothes not rumpled, hair not messed up.

Sasuke looked both happy and worried to see him. Naruto bared his teeth menacingly, and before anyone could stop him, before Sasuke could react, he swung his fist and smashed his birthday present to Sasuke's face. "Eat **this**!"

"What the _fuck_?!" Sasuke exclaimed; now he looked bewildered and angry, and Naruto wanted to lash out and shout that he really thought Sasuke loved him back, but…! "You bastard! How could you!"

Naruto paused when picked up Karin's voice in the background. The origami-shaped cake slowly splattered to the ground, dirtying the grandiose party hall and staining Sasuke's sleek clothes.

The blond stepped away from the mess. When Sasuke made a move to follow him, he held up a warning hand. "Don't follow me."

"What the hell was that for, _dobe_?" Even when dirtied and angry, Sasuke still looked gorgeous and Naruto wanted to rip his hair out.

Instead of inflicting more violence, Naruto settled for fixing the birthday-boy with a chilling glare, before walking away.

And his parting words rang in the party hall that was now stunned into shocked silence.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I hate you."

* * *

**To Be Continued**

So what's the explanation for Karin and Sasuke?! (LOL is that a time-jump I see? Is that a cliffhanger I see?)

Did the others change their minds about Naruto too quickly? Well, there were some behind-the-scene actions that I'll have to reveal next episode then! (Like, what was Sasuke doing during that 1-week interval?!)  
And **why** did those kids bid for Naruto, anyway? Some really have hots for the blond, but then again, some have different purposes. Only two chapters to go, so please look forward to the next update! :D

I hope you guys liked it! Please tell me what you think! Your thoughts are very important to me :) I'll try my best to reply to reviews; in case I don't find the time to reply, please do know that I really appreciate hearing your comments, no matter how long or short they are ;)

Till next time! :3  
(PS: I updated Daddy Sasuke and Please, Teacher! Haha.)


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